Our mission is to research, document, and report on the family history and genealogy of the family of Frank & Jesse James, their related families, plus their relevant social communities. What we learn, we make available for entertainment, informational, and educational purposes. We invite collaboration.
The family history we collect and preserve includes stories, biography, photos, and documents. We identify source evidence for the core genealogy of the James family to document a substantive, all encompassing, and authoritative genealogy, always available for peer review or for individual consultation. We take on family claimants, to either prove or disprove claims. We also debunk charlatans, fraudsters, and con artists.
We currently are writing and publishing an epic five-volume history of the Jesse James family, to identify and define the core character, personality, behavior, and very soul of the James family, as it appears from generation to generation throughout the family's history. We publish reviews of pertinent books, TV programs, and movies, as well as monitor auctions for artefact fraud. The events we produce include appearances, lectures, presentations, book signings, tours, and the rare Jesse James Family Reunion, open to the public.
We like working with institutions of learning, as well as with professional media outlets to bring an informed, fact-filled, and authoritative history of the Jesse James family to public attention. From artefact exhibits to personal participation, queries and consultation, or media appearances, we guarantee what the James family can provide from behind the scenes will educate, stimulate, and enlighten public interest.
Stray Leaves began publishing in 1997, following genealogy research showing the Jesse James family tree was much larger than previously recognized. Consultation with Jesse's great grandson, Judge James R. Ross, demanded, "Where's the evidence?" The evidence produced by Eric F. James was substantial. With the contribution of the research archive of Joan Beamis that produced the first family genealogy in 1970, research continues to grow, as does the Stray Leaves website and its social community of contributors and followers.
Judge Ross then directed Eric F. James to write a history of the Jesse James family. With so much new evidence discovered, and the first volume of Jesse James Soul Liberty already an award winner, four additional volumes will document and show the epic panorama of the historic James family. Meanwhile, public events like the Jesse James Gang & Family Reunion of 2002, will continue to offer the public personal contact and an intimate understanding of Jesse James and his family that no historian can provide.
James Preservation Trust co-founder with Judge James R. Ross * Archivist of the Joan Beamis Research Archive that produced the first genealogy of the Jesse James family, Background of a Bandit * Supervised and executed exhumation and re-internment of Jesse's twin children, Gould & Montgomery James * Publisher of Stray Leaves and Leaves of Gas * Author of Jesse James Soul Liberty
A great-grandson of Jesse James * Grew up with Jesse Jr. as his de facto father * Was privy to what other James family never heard * Wrote the book, I, Jesse James * President of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association * Bank founder * Judge - Superior Court of Orange County, California * Famous for his landmark ruling against Disneyland, upholding social justice & civil rights for gays * Co-founder of The James Preservation Trust
Co-founder of The James Preservation Trust. * Underwriter of the James family's DNA study * First career was a musician in the rock group The Cretones * A second cousin to William Napoleon Hudspeth, Robert Nicholas Hudspeth, and to Joel Rufus Hudspeth, and also to the brothers Benjamin J. and George S. Morrow, all of Quantrill's Guerillas. Also a cousin of Playboy publisher, Hugh Heffner.
While much of what we do gets done behind the scenes, our goal is to bring you what we find comprehensively in depth and with insight. We are dedicated to documenting the James family and to reporting on its revelations, in ways that are both entertaining and enlightening.
WE WANT YOU! Our growth has been phenomenal. We have plans for much more. Contact us for volunteer opportunities in feature story writing, document transcription, videography & documentary film, web development & administration, market growth & development, and patronage development. Submit your ideas and resume now.
Family history continues as the backbone of our efforts. Over 150 genealogy researchers have contributed to our success. You can view an early partial list on our Contributors page. Their contribution has made it easier for the James family itself to break 130 years of self- imposed silence to make contributions of their own. Everyone benefits. If you have genealogy, stories, video or photos you think are relevant to the Jesse James family, contact us. We know there are many more cousins. There is much more family to discover. No one person will do it alone. Join us.
How can you tell a blood relative of Jesse James? Just look at the ears. Every few weeks I receive images claimed to be Jesse James, or Frank James. More often, the pictures are just of a James family claimant. Most are promptly dismissed. But sometimes, when the physical resemblance appears so close, the first thing I look at are the ears.
For the James family, high school photos become really interesting when they are newly discovered photos of the great-grandchildren of Jesse James. Interest of the class photos increase when they photos are discovered to be provided by a previously unrecognized cousin.
While history recognizes Henrietta Younger-Rawlins as a sister to the notorious Younger brothers, history has ignored her husband A. Bledsoe Rawlins entirely. When Retta married Rawlins, she brought together two families that had known each other for over 100 years, through three generations.